HELENA, Mont.  – The Beacon volleyball team moved to 2-2 on the young season Saturday, as they fell in their final two matches at the Big Sky Challenge to Mount Vernon Nazarene and Carroll.  
 
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 3, Bushnell 1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-16, 25-13)
 
The Cougars hit .485 with just one attack error in the opening frame, setting the tone for a strong victory over the Beacons. MVNU (4-0) were the fourth-place finishers in the NAIA's Crossroads League last season and should be an NAIA contender moving forward.
 
Halle Neumann led the Beacons with 12 kills, while Bella Parque pulled in 19 digs. Bushnell collected eight blocks as a unit, with Matty Ladd contributing to four of them.
 
"Mount Vernon is a good team," said head coach Jason Corwin. "They hit hard and applied a lot of service pressure. It was a learning experience for us to respond differently moving forward."
 
Carroll (Mont.) 3, Bushnell 0 (25-19, 25-21, 27-25)
 
The Fighting Saints (3-1) hit .221 in the match and kept the Beacons at bay, despite a strong third-set for Bushnell that nearly saw the visitors push the match further than the sweep.
 
Leah Agost led the offensive threat with ten kills for the Beacons, hitting .308. Parque posted a match-high 22 digs while Kate Palelek led the team with 12 assists. Makenna Mosher landed four blocks along with a match-high pair of service aces.
 
Corwin said, "Carroll did a good job of keeping us under pressure and we could not find our rhythm today. We know what we have to work on these next few weeks to prepare for the Cascade Conference to start."
 
Bushnell will hit the road a few times for scrimmage action over the next two weeks before coming home for their Conference and Morse Center opener against Multnomah University on September 1.